Joshua 3

Joshua 3 records the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River by the people of Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, led by the Ark of the Covenant. It marks the transition from wilderness wandering to the possession of the inheritance promised to their fathers.

• Joshua leads the camp from Shittim to the Jordan, where they lodge for three days.
• Officers instruct the people to follow the Ark of the Covenant, maintaining a distance of 2,000 cubits.
• Joshua commands the people to consecrate themselves for the wonders God is about to perform.
• The Lord promises to exalt Joshua in the sight of the people and declares that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off.
• The priests enter the flooded Jordan with the Ark; as their feet touch the water, the flow stops, allowing the people to cross on dry ground.

• Shittim (H7851)
• Ark of the Covenant (H727, H1285)
• 2,000 cubits (H505, H520)
• The Jordan River at harvest time (flood stage)
• The city of Adam and the Salt Sea

This passage confirms Joshua’s divine leadership following Moses and parallels the Exodus from Egypt, establishing that the God who delivered them from slavery is the same God who brings them into the inheritance.

Entering into God’s promises requires sanctification, obedience to His word, and reliance on His presence rather than human capability.

The text moves from preparation and instruction (vv. 1-6) to divine declaration (vv. 7-13) and finally to the miraculous fulfillment of the crossing (vv. 14-17).

• The Lord will do wonders among you (v. 5).
• The Lord will be with Joshua just as He was with Moses (v. 7).
• The Lord will without fail drive out the Canaanites and other nations (v. 10).

• Sanctify yourselves (v. 5).
• Follow after the Ark (v. 3).
• Take twelve men from the tribes (v. 12).

• Do not come near the Ark (v. 4).

• Israel was camped at Shittim (H7851) on the east side of the Jordan before crossing into Canaan.
• The Jordan River was at harvest time, meaning it was at its seasonal flood peak, making a crossing without divine intervention impossible for a mass of people.

• The 2,000-cubit distance (H505, H520) reflects the cultural understanding of the holiness of the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the presence of God; to approach too closely without authorization was a breach of reverence.

• The book of Joshua serves as the direct sequel to the Pentateuch, fulfilling the covenant promises made to the patriarchs regarding the possession of the land.

• This event is a canonical echo of the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14), validating Joshua as the successor to Moses. Matthew Henry observes that as they traversed an 'untrodden path,' faith allowed them to see the Redeemer's feet in the path, shadowing the believer’s passage through the trials of this world to their heavenly rest.

• The division of the Jordan recalls the division of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:21-22.

• Joshua (יְהוֹשׁוּעַ H3091): Jehoshua, the leader of Israel.
• Rose early (שָׁכַם H7925): To load up/start early in the morning.
• Ark of the covenant (אָרוֹן H727, בְּרִית H1285): The box representing the covenant.
• Sanctify (קָדַשׁ H6942): To make ceremonially or morally clean.

• The miracle occurred while the priests' feet were still in the 'brim' of the water, suggesting immediate response to obedience.
• The text highlights that they had 'not passed this way heretofore' (v. 4), emphasizing the newness and divine necessity of the journey.

• There is no scriptural detail regarding the precise physical mechanism of the water stopping; interpreters have historically debated if it was a direct miracle, an earthquake causing a landslip upstream, or a providential coincidence. However, the text explicitly attributes the cause to the 'Lord of all the earth' (v. 11, 13).